Saturday, October 25, 2008

Tragic Halloween Costumes (Krofft edition)

Sid & Marty Krofft created some of the freakiest and best-loved kids shows of the 1970s. Because most of their shows featured people in strange costumes - Halloween was the perfect time to celebrate the weird and wonderful world of Krofft. Let's start with the classic sci-fi adventure LAND OF THE LOST. This NBC outing was the saga of a family (Marshall, Will and Holly) who, on a routine expedition, met the greatest Earthquake ever known! Somehow they wound up in a strange world populated by friendly and not-so-friendly dinosaurs, ape-like creatures called Pakuni and lizard-men called Sleestaks. I could go on for days about the show: how Marshall was replaced by "Uncle Jack," and how the big-budget, big-screen adaptation will probably suck. But instead, here is a Sleestak costume:
The mask is pretty good - but too bad the smock isn't as fabulous as the shimmering one worn by the TV Sleestaks. I guess I should stop complaining about these damn costumes by now, but WHY is there a horrible drawing of a Pakuni family rather than a portrait of Marshall, Will and Holly??? Another fun Krofft adventure show was ELECTRA WOMAN AND DYNA GIRL - which aired as part of ABC's KROFFT SUPERSHOW. Electra Woman was brilliantly portrayed by delightful daytime diva Deidre Hall  (best known as the sometimes Satan-possessed Dr Marlena Evans on DAYS OF OUR LIVES).
Okay, I have to admit - this costume is pretty good, but I wonder how many little girls (or gay men) recycled the mask and put on a lab coat and green contacts to go as Marlena for Halloween???A lesser known Krofft show was ABC's BIGFOOT AND WILDBOY . Here's the costume...
Bruce Vilanch never looked better.

And finally - just for fun here's the over-the-top Witchie-Poo from H.R. PUFNSTUF again cause I just love Billie Hayes. Check out her cool website!  She's adorable and does great things for animals.

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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 26, 2008 at 7:57 AM

    Thanks for the link. I loved loved loved Witchiepoo when I was a kid.

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  2. Sue FossOctober 26, 2008 at 9:11 AM

    Hey Doug, I love your blog... HR Puffinstuff rocked!
    : )
    (Hope you're well!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tony Z™October 30, 2008 at 11:28 AM

    No, the Electra Woman costume is not pretty good. Electra Woman did not wear her face on her costume. Anytime that happens, the costume automatically sucks.
    Of course, I do have one that I bought off eBay a couple years ago because I must have everything Electra Woman. But that's beside the point.

    Marlena possessed by the devil was the best that Days of Our Lives had ever been. I miss that stuff.
    I had actually planned on going to WeHo on Halloween as Susan Banks one year, but just never got around to putting together a costume. :-(

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  4. CUTTING THE BLIGHTMay 10, 2021 at 9:48 AM

    I wore that Sleestak costume in the ‘70s and loved it. Kids don’t see things the same way adults do. It never occurred to me that the smock was really lame.

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